All posts tagged: inspiration

Quarter Life Crisis & 4 Ways To Deal With It.

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A quarter life crisis is not a myth. Every 20-something reaches a point in life that is the peak of the adult version of adolescence. At that point begin a series of assessments, of one’s accomplishments, relationships, and the past, present & future. More often than not, these assessments give way to disappointment, anger and confusion, or a 20-something’s version of a mid-life crisis. The severity and implications of a Quarter Life Crisis aka QLC vary with each individual. A study solemnly reports that every 3 in 4 people aged 26 to 30 go through a Quarter Life Crisis, while the Urban Dictionary and Wikipedia have some broad opinions on what such a crisis entails. The pace at which our generation moves has redefined most demographics, and having just turned 23, I’m attempting to discuss how to cope with a QLC, and hoping I wouldn’t relapse. 1. Let go. We carry a heavy burden from our past, of broken friendships, unfulfilled promises and seemingly wrong choices. In retrospect however, these defining moments have made us …

25 Things I’d Tell The 25-Year-Old Me.

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1. The first quarter of your life is behind you. Let’s keep assuming you’ll live to be a 100. Live your best life. 2. Apply the 80-20 rule to life. Spend 80% of your time with 20% of the people who matter most. 3. May some things never change. Like you obsessing over your blog stats. 4. Sometimes, you’ve just got to take the shit people throw at you & move on. 5. By now, you should have said at least once in your life, “There’s no where else I’d rather be, and nothing else I’d rather be doing.” And meant it. 6. It’s not all downhill from here. ‘Life begins at 30’ might just be true. 7. It’s okay to lie for a good cause. 8. We’re past the Gandhian era. If life bitch-slaps you, don’t offer your other cheek. 9. If you don’t wake up every morning just for a glance outside your window, you better be panicking. Life is too short to live in an ugly place. 10. What good is your money if it …

Graduation day

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Commencement officially marks the end of student life, even though in our minds, the transition was made the day we finished our last exam in college. We’ve entered the next level of that video game that never ceases to fascinate us. Treasures have been found, hills climbed, landscapes traversed, battles fought and won or lost, accomplices identified, cheat codes memorized indelably. The time has come to remodel the avatar and refine the tasks. Staging black gowns and graduation hats, the class of 2009 officially ended its undergraduate tenure. There were smiles and flashes everywhere; Commencement 2009 at SMU (Singapore Management University, from where I graduate) became the culmination of all memories created and collected over 4 years. My own ineffability thus far was transcended by a sense of delight and hope, and a tinge of nostalgia. The commencement address, delivered by a member of the Keppel Coporation, was, in all aspects, disappointing, dismaying and demotivating. The R word was justified in being featured in the speech, but certainly not expected to consume it entirely. Tell …

Poetry at its finest

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While reading The Motorycle Diaries, I came across this hauntingly beautiful poem written by Otero Silva, a Venezuelan poet and novelist born in 1908: I heard splashing on the boat her bare feet And sensed in our faces the hungry dusk My heart swaying between her and the street, the road I don’t know where I found the strength to free myself from her eyes to slip from her arms She stayed, crying through rain and glass clouded with grief and tears She stayed, unable to cry Wait! I will come walking with you. Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.

Of Rural India & The Aasha Build

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The soul of an Indian is incomplete without a journey into the heart of rural India. The 2 weeks I spent in the slum region of Hegdenagar / Kamanahalli (to which I partly owe my long absence from the blogosphere) has transformed my perspective on India’s development, and my own ambitions and issues. Hegdenagar is an ignored little village, about an hour’s distance from Bangalore city, and a few decades’ development. Honestly though, I had imagined a replica of the Dharavi slums, and Hegnenagar’s cemented, albiet small and dilapidated houses, alleviated, if only for the shortest time, my anticipation of the living standards of our rural countrymen. I learnt later that most Dharavi-styled slums stand on illegal land, and Habitat India has fought its fair battle to abide by the law and take Hegdenagar through its first stage of development. The same houses which teased us with a heartening peek into rural life, home 8-10 families in their 300-350 sq-ft boundaries, math that left me bewildered. Constructing new homes for such families that could afford …

Perspectives

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As adults, we often train ourselves to think in ways that favor us. Instead of rotating thoughts, ideas and opinions through 360 degrees, we fix them at an angle and refuse to twist them. Gradually, everything starts to enter a region of grey, and we reach a point where it’s hard to seperate good from bad, right from wrong, and black from white.  I guess my point is that as we make our transitions into adulthood,  it is important to open up to perspectives. We are often ingrained with opinions about people and ideologies, and it can never hurt to switch shoes and re-evaluate them. I didn’t mean this to be a motivational post, I promise. All I wanted to get across is that the world is full of perspectives, and if only we loosen up, we’ll start to enjoy the 360 degree view. Here’s a video on perspectives, courtesy a friend. If you aren’t wowed yet, watch it again. The words, when read forward paint a picture of negativity. The same words, when read …

Earth Hour 2009

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To some of our minds, climate change is still a far-fetched issue, way out of our grasp and way beyond our time. Even as we speak, people are getting trapped in poverty and hunger all over the world. Our generation is suffering, and climate change is trying to make us reflect upon the well-being of future generations. I don’t know if it’s a just cause, but I do know that we are genetically coded to be futuristic. After all, we do all we do in our life time, so our race could survive further, consciously or sub-consciously. Above is a glimpse into climate change. If you have ever been awestruck by the picturesque view from a hill top, been hypnotized by the turquoise blue of the sea, or simply marvelled at the sheer beauty of the evening sky, you know that our planet is worth saving. You can read more on CNN’s exclusive section Planet in Peril. Earth Hour is an initiative by the WWF, that tries to urge each individual, household and organization to …

Coldplay Live in Singapore!

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We didn’t get to heaven but we made it close.  This is going to be a really short post, because I can’t even begin to describe what it feels like seeing Coldplay perform live! Chris Martin is really awesomeness personified, with an unbelievable voice and a truckload of energy. *Bows* I am still suffering from Coldplay withdrawal symptoms, or as my friend would say, Coldstroke! I can still hear violet hill live in my head, I can still choke on Chris Martin doing fix you,  I am still speechless imagining the hardest part, I am still lost. What a concert! And in the end We lie awake And we dream We’re making our escape… Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.

Under the night sky

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She walks the lone road, Silence stinging her senses Like a cold wind would sting Her bare skin, But the night is still And dark, and the sky is dark, Embracing the dainty arch Of the new born moon, As though it were created to protect The moon alone, and nothing below, And no stars shone Upon the silence of the night.    She walks past a house masked By dull peeling white, the smell Of rust, and autumn in sight In a garden, brown and bare.   She walks through the night Till she reaches the end Of her road, the end of all life, And peers through the sky above At the morning light, at the first rays Of the rising sun. A new horizon?   Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has …

Note from a friend

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Sometimes, when you are daunted by the road ahead, intimidated and overwhelmed by the future, a word of advice may be all it takes, a vote of confidence, some encouragement, from someone whose been there, done that, someone whose walked that path, survived. I found mine in a friend and senior from school, whose well on her way to becoming an entrepreneur. Here goes: ” …not a long time ago..i was in a similar situation as you..I had these colossal dreams..and no idea whatsoever as to how I could turn them into reality..job apps were disappointing..but I had braced myself to endure anything which would help add new skills to my personality..and bring me closer to becoming the kind of person i’ve always wanted to be..an entrepreneur.. And trust me when i say this..today..it might feel like none of these jobs will do justice to your abilities..to what you can bring to the world..but they will make you stronger..they will teach you a very imp quality (a must for anyone who wants to carve out …